Nightmare Assignment
by Kitsune Hanyou
Summary: Ken believes that he has finally found the girl of his dreams........unfortunitly, it seems that Crawford has also.
1. Part 1

A/N: Check it out! My 2nd posted fic! I hope you peeps like this one. I kinda took my friend Valkyrie's ideas and changed them a little. I hope that you people like it. If you do, then review and I will add how they met and this same story from Aya and Loretta's perspective, AND the sequil of this fic! This one is only three chapters long...but unlike my Inu- Yasha fic, the chapters are long. Well, on with the fic!  
  
Weiß Kreuz  
  
Nightmare Assignment:  
  
Chapter 1: The Assignment  
  
Ken helped his wonderful girlfriend off his motorcycle; he wasn't about to let his date with Aurora end so easily, just because they had reached her apartment building. No way! He wrapped his arms around his beautiful date, pulling her right against his chest; but didn't feel her arms wrap around him. He leaned his head down, pressing his lips against hers'. His tongue gently grazed her lips, begging entrance; and was denied. He pulled back and opened his eyes. Aurora was shaking her head, "no". He gave her a look that said, "How dare you try to refuse me, Ken Hidaka?" as she walked up the steeps and opened the door.  
  
He stood there, stunned beyond all belief that she wouldn't even return his goodnight kiss. She turned to look back at him, still holding the large wooden door. At first a mischievous smirk lit her face; then, to his surprise, a wounded frown that told him he had hurt her feelings, flawed her near perfect features. She released the heavy door, and Ken finally understood. His assassin reflexes kicked in, and he stopped the door in the nick of time and he rushed through.  
  
Aurora smiled as his arms encircled her once more. This time she responded by wrapping her arms around his waist. He closed his eyes and kissed her. Even though he was afraid of being rejected once more, he slid his tongue across her lips. Success! This time it was allowed in. He moved very slowly as their tongues met, exactly the way he knew she liked it. If he was forceful or too fast, he had learned, the hard way, that she would pull back and not kiss him again for a while.  
  
After a long moment, when their kiss was finally over, Ken looked into the large, deep, shimmering, black pools that were Aurora's eyes; they were so clear that Ken thought he saw his own green eyes reflected back at him. Sometimes he thought she was too good to be true. She and her roommate, Loretta Bellsworth, had just wondered into Koneko no Sumu Ie, the flower shop where he worked, during their vacation to Japan. If it hadn't been for the shop's owner, his friend, Aya, Ken and Aurora probably wouldn't have ever even met. Stupid Aya had run into her while she smelled a rose, knocking her down; breaking not only the flowerpots he had been carrying, but also the laptop computer Aurora had been holding for her friend.  
  
Aya had been such a jerk and yelled at her, telling her that she should have been watching where she was standing; leaving her to clean the mess he had caused. Yohji and Omi had both rushed to help her first, of course, forgetting the tools to clean the mess with. Omi flashed that adorable young smile he always wears, while smooth Yohji handed her one of the roses she had been smelling and whispered something that had made her smile. But it had been Ken, yep, him, with nothing more then a Wisk-broom and dustpan, who had caught her eye. Ken was glad. Aurora was far too old for Omi and had done nothing so horrible as to deserve the pimp-master, playboy Yohji, who would have just left her with a broken heart. No, she deserved more then that, much more.  
  
"Tonight was wonderful," Ken whispered in her ear. "I don't want it to ever end."  
  
"Neither do I," Aurora whispered back, her voice soft, silky...tempting.  
  
"Is Loretta home tonight?" Ken answered her unspoken invitation.  
  
"Not sure," she ran her hands up his back, "Isn't she supposed to be with Aya?"  
  
"If they are together, let's hope they don't put each other in the hospital...again."  
  
Aurora laughed, both she and Ken knew, all too well, that Aya and Loretta like it violent. Each time they came back from seeing each other they had cuts, bruises, sprains, broken bones, burns...twice before they had had wounds so bad that they were in the hospital for three days.  
  
"I'm sure she's gone," Aurora assured him, even though Ken knew she didn't know.  
  
They walked hand-in-hand up to her apartment. When they reached it, Aurora unlocked the door, but before she could open it, he grabbed her shoulders, turned her around, and kissed her while his body pressed hers' against the door...  
  
...Which is why they both fell- Ken on top of Aurora- when Loretta ripped open the door.  
  
"I can't possibly understand what you see in that SON OF A BITCH'S FRIEND!" Loretta screamed, stomped off to her room, and slammed the bedroom's door.  
  
Ken smiled, and then remembered that he was laying on Aurora. He pushed himself off of her and held out his hand to help her up. "Are you alright?" He asked, and that's when he saw the crimson blood seeping into the fabric on her right sleeve. "My, Go..." he grabbed her wrist and pushed up the sleeve. A long, deep gash was carved into her skin. Intense fear flashed through his mind. Why hadn't she told him about it? What had happened to her?  
  
"Calm down," she said evenly, obviously sensing his fear. She ran the fingers on her left hand though his eye-length straight brown hair. "Lori and I got into a fight. Stupid me, I got her mad while she was cooking. I was a little too close when she threw the knife down." She smiled, "Needless to say, the fight ended pretty quickly." She groaned and pulled herself to her feet. "I'm sorry, but as you can see, Lori desperately needs me...and I think that the moment has been sufficiently killed." She sighed, "It's weird, after she sees Aya, she either needs to be cheered up or bandaged up!"  
  
Ken nodded, she was right; Aya would probably need a friend, too. He would never admit it, but he deeply loved Loretta. It hurt him when he hurt her. Why were their lives so complicated? He sighed, "I'll come see you tomorrow, I promise."  
  
She nodded and walked him to the door. He kissed her on her forehead and repeated, "Tomorrow." He left the building, hopped on his motorcycle and started for his apartment across Tokyo, behind Koneko no Sumu Ie.  
  
***  
  
When he reached his building, he was surprised to see all of the other members of Weiß, plus Persia's two beautiful secretaries, Manx and Birman, waiting outside for him.  
  
"Took you long enough," Yohji complained between puffs of his cigarette. A pile of finished ones littered the ground beneath him, telling Ken that they had been there for a while.  
  
Omi jumped up and ran to Ken, "How was your date, Ken-kun?" Omi had always been as enthusiastic about Ken's dates with Aurora as Ken was; Ken thought it was very mature of Omi to be a good sport when Aurora said she liked Ken and not him or Yohji. Yohji was still a bit angry. "I bet you had a great time!"  
  
Ken grinned and ran his fingers through his soft hair. "It was great," he assured Omi. "Or at least it was, until-"  
  
Aya abruptly stood and stomped into the apartment building without saying a word. The others watched the door slam behind Aya. "Anyway," Omi continued, "Did you give it to her?"  
  
Manx and Birman stared at Ken in confusion. Ken felt the blood rushing to his face. He reached into his jeans pocket and wrapped his fingers around the beautiful, and very expensive, platinum band with a deep purple tanzanite gem with two flawless, perfectly clear diamonds on either side. He had planned on giving it to her and telling her everything, but the right time never seemed to present itself. How would he, how could he, tell his love that he had been lying to her?  
  
Ken sighed and shook his head solemnly, "No, I couldn't find the right time."  
  
"The right time?!" Yohji exclaimed, jumping to his feet and dropping his cigarette, "You were with her for four fucking hours! Hell, give it to me, I'll ask her!"  
  
Ken stepped back, "You think it would be so easy for me to tell her?" He brushed his hair out of his eyes, "She thinks she knows everything about me! How am I supposed to tell her that when I'm not working at the flower shop, or teaching little kids to play soccer, I murder people?!"  
  
"We aren't murderers, Ken," Yohji said in an understanding tone, "We're the ones who stop the murderers."  
  
"The hell we aren't," Ken sighed, "killing is killing, no matter how you look at it."  
  
"She'll understand that it's just your job." Omi assured him. "We don't do this for fun! We do it because we have to! Because no one else will!"  
  
Yohji shook his head, "Anyway, as you can see, we have a new assignment. Let's get this over with so you can go tell her what you really do, stop stressing over what she'll think, and.we can throw a killer bachelor party with a lot of really hot girls!" He laughed.  
  
Maybe they were right, Ken thought as he followed them into the apartment. After she got over the fact that he lied to her about his career, maybe she would be okay with him being an assassin.WHAT WAS HE THINKING?! OF COURSE SHE WOULDN'T BE OKAY WITH IT! Sweet, gentle Aurora...she would be terrified of him. He didn't know what would hurt him more: the look of angry, shocked, disbelief that would show when he told her he had lied to her, or the paralyzing horror her large black eyes would display as he said, "I'm an assassin."  
  
The last thing he wanted was her to be afraid of him. But how could she not be if she found out what he really was? Too many "if's" flooded his brain. He knew what he would have to do; no matter how much it hurt him, no matter that after he did, she would never want to even hear his name again, he would tell Aurora what he was. He would have the courage to tell her! ...He hopped.  
  
Omi pushed the video into the VCR and hit play. Immediately the familiar shadow they knew as Persia appeared.  
  
"Hello, White Hunters of the night. Our intelligence has discovered two new and seeming important people to Schwarz. These two should be relatively easy to seek out and eliminate. Eliminating these two would be a hard blow to Schwarz. They have yet to be sent on any missions for Reiji Takatori that we know of..."  
  
Ken was only half listening to the tape; his thoughts were to clouded with the reactions on Aurora's face when he told her everything.  
  
"...The two young women are from America..."  
  
Aurora and Loretta are from America, Ken thought dreamily.  
  
"...Both are 19 years old and considered by are intelligence to be extremely dangerous..."  
  
Aurora is 19, Ken thought, she is so wonderful; I hope she won't hate me after I tell her. What will she say when I ask: "Will you marry me, Au-  
  
"...Aurora Maria Thyme and Loretta Alison Bellsworth are your new targets..."  
  
Ken stared in disbelief. "No," he whispered. He gasped and looked at Aya. Aya's normally emotionless face now showed signs of anger, fear, sadness, and betrayal.  
  
Ken looked back at the television screen only to see horrifying images of Aurora with Crawford, the leader of Weiß's mortal enemy, Schwarz, and Loretta with Schuldich, another member of Schwarz. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Aya turn away and could have sworn that he saw a single tear spill from his eye and trail down his cheek.  
  
On the TV, footage of the Schwarz members sitting in a restaurant with Crawford's arms ensnaring Aurora and Schuldich's hands on Loretta's hips burned into Ken's mind. In the footage, all of a sudden, Farfarello yanked out one of his daggers and he lunged at Aurora, cutting a long gash down her right arm.  
  
Ken's mind reeled as his memories of earlier that night flooded back to him. Hadn't Aurora told him that that gash had been an accident? None of this was possible! This had to be a sick joke; none of this could be true!  
  
Persia's voice spoke as the clip continued; Aurora started yelling at Farfarello but stopped when he pointed the bloody dagger at her. Crawford pushed her out of the way and stood threateningly in front of Farfarello, who backed down immediately. "Aurora Thyme is the brains while Loretta Bellsworth is the muscle. As you can probably guess, Aurora and Loretta will leave two of Schwarz's most valuable members vulnerable."  
  
Just then, something on the tape caught Ken's eye, "Omi! Re...rewind the tape!"  
  
The others stared at him, "Ken, I know this is hard, but-" Yohji started.  
  
"Rewind the damn tape, Omi!" Ken yelled through gritted teeth.  
  
Omi hit rewind and after a second or two Ken said, "Push play!"  
  
Ken's heart felt like a broken mirror that was continuously being trampled on, stomping it's shattered shards into microscopic bits of battered glass as he watched that Schwarz bastard Crawford trail kisses down her neck. Yet his eyes weren't on Crawford; they were fixed on Aurora. As Crawford kissed her, a single tear fell from her left eye as she mouthed one word: 'Ken'.  
  
Ken knew without a shred of doubt what she was mouthing. He had seen her say his name far to many times to not know. He was positive. Whatever was going on, it was against her will. As the scene changed to one of Loretta and Schuldich, there was no doubt in his mind that the incident had been forced-and no one forced Ken Hidaka's girl to do anything.  
  
But he has to see it again, to make sure it wasn't his imagination giving him what he wanted to see. "Rewind it again, Omi," he said in a rush.  
  
Again and again he made Omi rewind the tape, each time his heart kept being stomped on, threatening to ground the glass so small it would only be a string of molecules; but the tear... the word...they were still there, each time he watched it.  
  
He pointed it out to the others, whom dismissed it and said that he was too blinded with shock and emotion to see that she had been using him for Schwarz's gain.  
  
And as the tape was finally allowed to play on, Ken started to believe them too.  
  
(End of Part 1)  
  
A/N: Well? What do you think?! Review PLEASE...! Bowdees! 


	2. Part 2

A/N: Howdees people...okay, I got 5 reviews...that makes me depressed. I have over 400 for my other one...in the first week, I have about 50! This one's been up for almost three months...oh, well. At least I have 3. Well, anyway, I don't think that I will be writing anymore Weiß fanfics. It just seems that no one reads them. Or at least no one reads the ones that aren't yaoi.  
  
Nightmare Assignment  
  
Chapter 2: The Mission  
  
After suiting up, the Weiß boys left their apartment building and headed for Takatori headquarters. By then, Ken fully believed that what he saw on the television screen was only his heart franticly searching for anything to tell him that the video was wrong.  
  
They made their way into the building without being detected. When inside, they decided to split up, hoping to have a quick and easy kill.  
  
Ken raced down the corridor, they had been very lucky. This was the most dangerous place for a member of Weiß...but right now, he didn't care.  
  
He kept as calm as he could, the rage he felt still burned, but he kept it as smoldering embers. He could not afford to be careless, not in his line of work, especially not here. He prayed he got to Aurora before the others, he wanted to hear her beg for mercy and forgiveness and hear her scream as he tore through her flesh.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
"Brad, baby, calm down," Aurora said as calmly as she could to the enraged Schwarz leader. She was nearly paralyzed with fear.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
"Brad, baby, calm down," Ken cringed as the familiar voice, just three hours ago he thought was the most beautiful on the planet, said the name Brad in the same seductive tone he remembered her saying his own name. He carefully crept up to the door of the room Aurora's voice escaped from and listened intently.  
  
"'Baby'?!" Brad Crawford screamed, he followed it up with a sharp, strong slap to Aurora's face. "Who gave you the privilege to call me 'baby'?!"  
  
"Brad, please!" Aurora's said, her voice sounding as terrified as she felt. "Brad! What did I-"  
  
Aurora was cut off by the sound of bone colliding with bone. Ken had to sneak a peak; he looked around the corridor to see if it was safe, and then stuck his head through the door. Crawford was holding Aurora's upper arms so tightly, Ken could already see the bruises forming under his fingers. Aurora was staring up at him in shock, trying to wrench herself free while blood dripped from her nose and the side of her mouth.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
The only thought screaming through Aurora's mind was 'GET AWAY FROM HIM, HE'S GOING TO KILL YOU!' She tried her hardest, but he was far too strong.  
  
"You conniving little bitch!" Brad hit her again, this time with the back of his hand.  
  
She knew she would have to keep up the charade; she couldn't let it end like this. She had to play innocent and oblivious. She filled her eyes with tears as she looked up at him, "What's wrong? What did I do?"  
  
"What did you-" He was furious now. Aurora braced herself for another hit, but instead, Crawford threw her onto the floor. "You work for Weiß, don't you? Don't deny it, we found out you were an assassin. I have all the time in the world to stay here and wait 'till you tell me everything. So, whenever you feel like saying anything, just say it, I'll be right here." He knelt down and stroked her cheek. "I bet Allison isn't even your real name, is it?"  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
If Ken's heart could have fallen any farther, it would have. He couldn't believe it, she had lied to him? She had said she was on vacation; she couldn't be an assassin, could she?  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Aurora tried to scramble to her feet, but failed miserably as Crawford grabbed her and slammed his fist into her stomach. She doubled over, both from the force and pain, and coughed uncontrollably. Droplets of blood-her blood-rained onto the concrete floor. Crawford grabbed a fistful of her think, brown, curled hair. "this will be much less painful.for you.if you would just answer my questions!" He pulled her head so that she was looking him square in the eyes. She drew her breath in gasps and tears poured from her eyes. "Answer me!"  
  
"Go...to...hell!" Aurora hissed at him through her gasps for breath.  
  
Crawford threw her face to the floor and kicked her in the ribs, making her scream in pain.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Ken fought the urge to stop the beating. He was so confused now. But he trusted Persia, and Persia said she was evil. Why should he bloody his claws when Crawford was doing the job for him?  
  
"What about your boyfriend, hmmm?" Crawford asked maliciously. Ken watched Aurora freeze. "What? You think that we wouldn't find out?"  
  
"Please! Leave him alone! Beat me, torture me...kill me...just leave him alone!"  
  
"Hmmm...what was his name again...?" Crawford put his hand to his head, pretending to think, "Oh! I remember! Ken Hidaka."  
  
Ken perked up at the sound of his own name.  
  
"No!" Aurora begged, "He hasn't done anything! He doesn't even know that I'm an assassin! Please!" She paused for a second, "I love him."  
  
Ken was shocked, his mind was short-circuiting. Did she really...love him? Or was it just another trick?  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Those words seemed to enrage Crawford even more. "You do, do you?" He threw her to the floor again, and this time pined her there. "Well, I'm sorry I'm the one who has to tell you this," he swung his left leg over her and straddled her hips, "but he's dead." He smoothed his hands over her stomach and chest.  
  
Aurora thrashed in a futile attempt to get him off as she screamed, "Bastard! You fucking evil bastards! How could you?! He didn't do anything." She was so overcome with emotion that she couldn't shake him off. "Now you have nothing to barging for information with." She stared into Crawford's eyes intimidating, "Kill me, torture me, threaten me. I don't care, I've been an assassin for too long. You think this is the first time I've gotten myself into a jam? Think again! I always find a way out!"  
  
Ken's mind was torn. Who should he believe? Before he reacted, he had to be positive that it wasn't just another act-which was something she seemed very good at.  
  
"Really?" Crawford asked as he unbuttoned her shirt. Aurora struggled to stop him, but failed. "What about Loretta? You care about her, don't you?" He finished the last button and threw the shirt open, exposing her bruised stomach and black laced bra. "Beautiful!" Then his hands hovered over the button and zipper of her jean skirt. "If you tell me everything now, I'll wait until you're ready...if not..."  
  
She whimpered slightly as Crawford's quickly undid and pulled her skirt off of her. Why couldn't she fight back? She had had years of training, she could usually take down someone twice Crawford's size. "Of course I care about Lori! She's my friend! But we both knew what could happen when we took this job! And no matter what happens, I'll never tell!" She knew exactly why she couldn't fight back, those drugs were already starting to cloud her mind. What the hell had they given her?!  
  
"What about Loretta? Will she?"  
  
Aurora laughed, or at least that was what she had tried to do, "Kill me and find out! Loretta is the brawn of this duo! I get all the info, make all the plans, she gets things done! She follows my orders! Everything is on a needs to no bases!" She looked into his eyes, daring him to make a move; she finished in a low, raw, intimidating voice you wouldn't have ever expected to come from such a nice seeming young woman, "And she has never needed to know." Maybe the stupid drugs would knock her out so she wouldn't be awake and feel her slow, torturous death.  
  
"Fine then," he put both his hands on her inner thighs and spread them apart. "We'll see how reluctant you are after I finish." Aurora screamed the most high-pitched, blood-curtailing scream as Crawford's wet, slimy tongue touched her skin, just above her belly button.  
  
No such luck; she'd have to feel every excruciating second.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Ken's blood ran cold as he heard her scream. His couldn't control himself as he crashed through the door and knocked Crawford unconscious. Crawford's limp body fell onto Aurora who yelped because of Ken's sudden, unexpected attack.  
  
Ken threw off his claws, pushed Crawford as hard and as far away from his love as he could. He gently wrapped his arms around her near naked body, being careful not to touch any of the bruises Crawford had put in her perfect skin. She was shaking with fear.  
  
"Aurora, calm down, it me, it's Ken. Please, talk to me. They didn't hurt me! God! Why did I even let him lay a finger on you?!"  
  
Aurora's answer rushed out so fast it sounded like the words were overlapping each other. "Ken?! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to lie to you, but I couldn't let you get hurt. I didn't know how or when to tell you. I was afraid you would be angry and afraid. But everything went wrong with Crawford and, and..." Hot tears fell from her eyes, "I love you Ken." She whispered.  
  
Then, to Ken's horror, Aurora's eyes fluttered closed and her tense body loosened.  
  
"No," Ken was barely able to whisper; but his mind brain was screaming: NO! You can't die like this! Wake up damn it! Wake up!  
  
As if responding to his thoughts, Aurora's body tensed again and her eyes fluttered back open. "The-they put something i-in me," she was barely able to choke out. She started to lift her arm for Ken to see the cluster of needle pricks on the inside of her elbow.  
  
Ken noticed how much it seemed to hurt her to move, "Shh, don't move, I'll get you out of here."  
  
She curled up against him tried to thank him, but fainted again.  
  
Ken removed his jacked and draped it around her; then scooped her up and escaped the room; leaving Crawford sprawled unconscious on the floor. They were barley twenty meters from the room when Ken heard loud footsteps clanking down the corridor.  
  
He dashed around a corner and pressed himself, as flat as he could manage while carrying Aurora, against the wall. He looked out to try to see who was coming; he prayed that it wasn't a Schwarz member or someone of the Takatori family. He didn't have the time to fight one of them, and he especially didn't want to leave Aurora alone.  
  
A fraction of a second later, a tall man with fiery red hair and violet eyes carrying a young woman wrapped in his coat trudged into view. "Abyssinian!" Ken called, "Over here!"  
  
Aya looked fearfully in Ken's direction and rushed over to him. Loretta lay unconscious in his arms; blood had started to seep through Aya's coat. Aya caught Ken's stare and answered the question forming in his mind. "They let Farfarello have her." He kissed her forehead. "They were American spies sent to figure out something. That's all they got out of her." He choked back the tears that were trying to form in his eyes. "They hated these bastards...and loved us." His eyes caught the young woman in Ken's arms, "What did they do to her?"  
  
"Tried to get information our of her by using drugs, and...Crawford thought he could have a little...fun, before he tortured her to death." He gazed at her, he needed to get her to a hospital, fast; who knew if she had internal injuries or not? It looked as if Loretta needed a doctor too; she was losing a lot of blood.  
  
"Let's get out of here," Ken said, he turned on his communicator, "Bombay? Balinese? Mission..." he paused, "completed."  
  
Omi answered, "Right, Siberian. Is Abyssinian with you?"  
  
"Yes. Meet us at the check point."  
  
"Roger."  
  
"I think we might have some explaining to do," Ken said softly, and switched off his communicator.  
  
He turned to Aya, "Come on, they'll be waiting for us outside."  
  
The two were barely able to escape without anyone noticing or tripping any alarms. Yohji and Omi were hiding in the shadows just outside the gates. They were shocked to see Aurora and Loretta still very much alive, but Aya and Ken promised to explain everything once the two were safely checked into a hospital.  
  
A/N: So...all of the peeps reading my Inu-Yasha fic had better be reading this! But I know they aren't...sucks to be me. Oh well, review please! The more I get the sooner I update! 


	3. Part 3

A/N: Okay people, the very few who actually read this fic. Here's the final chapter. This is it. In the wise words of Porky Pig: "Abdee, abdee, abdee, That's all, folks!"  
  
Please Review.  
  
Nightmare Assignment  
  
Chapter 3:  
  
When Weiß finally made it to a hospital, the doctors had many questions for them that they really didn't want to answer. The major questions that they would not stop asking were, 'How did they get like this?' and 'Where did you find them?'  
  
Yohji came up with some insane piece of fiction that they others thought no one would believe, but the doctors seemed to. Ken didn't think that anyone could be that stupid, but was thankful the doctors were because it got them off Weiß's backs.  
  
After what had felt like weeks, but was actually about an hour or two, of waiting, a doctor had at last came out to tell them about Aurora and Loretta's condition. Aurora had been bleeding internally but the doctors had been able to stop it. Loretta had lost a massive amount of blood, but would recover. The drugs that had been injected into them had only been strong sedatives and would only leave them with headaches and queasy stomachs when they woke.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Two weeks.two long, horrible weeks. Ken couldn't get his mind off of what happened. He felt he should have jumped in sooner. Two weeks, and they were still in the hospital. They were supposed to be able to leave today. He hadn't been allowed to see her the entire time. He felt like he was dying inside. He was why she was suffering.he should have done something earlier.  
  
What a nightmare. Both of their assignments had ended in tragedy. Ken didn't know what to tell Aurora. Should he tell her that the only reason he was there was to kill her? Not only that, but he had wanted so desperately to do it, too? He still loved her; more then anything. But could he go through with it? Could he ask her now?  
  
"I'm so sorry that I didn't tell you," Aurora told Ken, "I had desperately wanted to. This entire thing did start out as a vacation, like we told you.and it was extended. Our boss called and said, 'Stay in Japan as long as you like.' We didn't think anything of it. By that time we had met you and Aya, and were delighted to be able to stay longer. But, like with everything there is a catch. We found out a week later that our new assignment was to infiltrate Schwarz and find out as much as we could about Reiji Takatori. You know, find out what makes them tick." She looked into Ken's eyes; he knew that she could see the anxiety in them. "Every time he touched me or kissed me I felt sick." She turned her face away from him, "And every time I was forced to lie to you, I felt even worse."  
  
Ken nodded and put his hand on her cheek, gently turning her face but to his. "I had never wanted to lie to you. I just didn't know how you would react when I told you that your florist boyfriend was, in fact, an assassin."  
  
Aurora laughed half-heartily, "I know the feeling. I thought you would be afraid of me of something stupid like that if you found out. I mean, I had done my best to seem innocent and unthreatening.I guess I did a good job. I really didn't want to lie to you. But how could I have told you that my job said I had to 'date' Bradley Crawford?" She shuddered at his name.  
  
Ken touched her cheek lovingly. "When Persia first said that you were a target, I didn't believe him. But the video clips and the pictures." He trailed off, by the way Aurora was trembling, it looked like Crawford had hurt her in many ways.  
  
"He was," she paused, searching for the right words, she placed her had on her neck; Ken noticed that it was the same place where Crawford had kissed her in the video. "It was torture," she finally whispered. "He just kept pushing so hard to get what he wanted, I couldn't stand it. But I have to make him believe that I loved him." She cringed at the thought.  
  
"I know you didn't." Ken wrapped his arms around her for comfort, but it didn't stop her from crying. "Please don't cry. It's just a job; if anyone can understand that it's me! You'll never have to do that-"  
  
"Again?" She finished, "That's the problem! I will! I always will! It's my job that's what I have to do! I make the highest ranking officials in a gang fall in love with me, find out as many secrets as I can without arising any suspicion and then leave without a trace! I've gone by so many names that I it's sometimes hard to remember my real name."  
  
"Your name isn't Aurora Thyme?'  
  
"Yes, it's my real name, but sometimes when I'm on a mission I forget it. For Crawford it was Allison Cauldron, before that it was Elise Brookland, before that it was Ashley Cudra, before that it was Dianna Triton, the list goes on and on!" She buried her face in his chest, "You are the first and only person who has ever used my real name when you said, 'I love you'."  
  
"I do love you," Ken said gently, "We don't have to kill anymore. We can run away.and be together."  
  
"What?"  
  
He let her go and bent down on one knee and pulled the ring out of his pocket, "Aurora .will you marry me?'  
  
She covered her face with her hands and started crying even harder then she had been.  
  
Ken didn't understand, people weren't supposed to cry when you asked them that! Weren't you supposed to be happy?! "Wh-what's wrong?"  
  
"Ken." She turned her face away. "I.I can't.I.I.can't."  
  
"Yes you can! I love you, and you say you love me; I want to spend the rest of my life with you, you say you feel the same.let's make it official! Don't you want to?"  
  
Aurora fell to her knees, "Of course I want to.I love you, Ken.but I can't."  
  
"Yes you can! We'll move to America! I'll play soccer again! We will be safe."  
  
"They'll kill me. They don't allow anyone to quit. My boss owns me! I'm stuck in this job until I am either killed or I become too old to be useful."  
  
"We won't let them find us!"  
  
"They can find out anything. They won't stop sending assassins until we're both dead!"  
  
"Who better to stop an assassin then an assassin?! Let Weiß protect you! I won't let anyone hurt you ever again."  
  
"Ken, I can't risk it. They wouldn't only come after me!" She wrapped her arms around his waist and buried her face in his chest, "The people I work for are merciless and cruel.they would make me watch you die. I can't let them hurt you. No matter what my heart says, I can't stay. I would be murdering you."  
  
"No! Nothing would happen! We-"  
  
Loretta ran down the hall crying, Aya ran after but finally gave up and walked away.  
  
"NO!" Aurora stood, "I couldn't do that. And Weiß needs you. Who else will 'Deny the dark beasts their tomorrows'?"  
  
Ken stood also, "Aurora, please."  
  
"I can't." She turned away and started to walk out of the building. "I'm sorry, Ken. Good-bye, but remember.I love you."  
  
Ken ran up to her and pulled her into one last kiss. He took her right hand and slid the ring on her finger. "Just in case y-you change your mind." He stepped back and did the hardest thing he would ever do: he let her walk away.  
  
He didn't care about anyone who was watching at that moment, the entire world could have been watching him; but that didn't stop him from crying. He didn't care who saw. He had just lost everything that could ever mean anything to him. The only thought in his brain was that he would never see his love again.  
  
(The End)  
  
A/N: Why do I even bother? You know why? Cause my best friend said that she wouldn't read anymore of my other fics until I finished this one. Well, here it is Val, just for you. And if anyone else likes it, I have a prequel and a sequel, but no one read this one, why would they read those? ::Sigh:: If anyone reviews and asks for either, I might put it up. If not, oh well. Please review. 


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